I've written about Marina Cosmetics before, and wanted to share this special offer with you before it expires. Purchase any Marina Hydrating Gloss for $22, and receive a full sized Sea Perfected Lipstick FREE. That is a gloss and a lipstick for $22. Can't beat that.

The best part about these products is that they offer UVA and UVB protection, which isn't something you find in many glosses or lipsticks, but is so important. Also, I'm told that if you use a Marina lip product for 56 days, you can see a 9% decrease in wrinkle depth to the lips.

When I was first getting into beauty blogging, I remember how the Proenza Schouler Proenza Pink lipstick was a HUGE deal. It wasn't a color I could pull off, but I admired it from afar on others.

Lancome is doing it once again, this time working with Chris Benz for a Spring 2010 color that will be worn by his models in his September show. The color will be inspired by his collection.

The really cool part about this is that they want you to help name it! Visit Chris Benz's Facebook page and submit your suggestions. The winner will receive a $500 Lancome gift certificates and five of the lipsticks. The deadline for this is July 12. Hop on over there and give it your best creative shot, and good luck!

As all of my fellow ladies know, I have long-since been a struggler of acne. Recently, I professed my undying love and devotion to Mario Badescu for his magical glycolic foaming cleanser and amazing drying mask. Although I have seen the light and the way through Mario, I still get my once-a-weekers. You know, the one that pops up right when you're glowing from a clear complexion. She's a bitch. Enter the laundry list of "acne spot treatments" I've used in the past:

Toothpaste (old school crest with no whitening)

Hemmorhoid cream (If it can tame a hemmorhoid, why couldn't it tame one of my little monsters??)

Rubbing Alcohol (I made matters worse by lancing first. Yowza!!)

Pure Aloe (Yeah, not sure why I thought this would work.)

Mud (I'm totally serious. But I'm a hippie, so wouldn't you expect this?)

After those failing experiments, I lost hope...or so I thought. Yet again, enter my Italian hero Mario with my new favorite product: Drying Lotion. Funny story, I remember seeing this little pink bottle in the back of Cosmopolitan and Glamour with all of the mail-order ads. Ha. This amazing little bottle of pink goo was advertised with a cream that promised to enhance my breast size and a pill for hair growth. No more!! I am here to shout from the mountaintops, sing to the masses, "I have found it!! The TRUE on-the-spot acne treatment!" Serious, ladies.

I was not convinced by appearances at first. It is a tiny glass bottle, 1 ounce to be exact, with a solid substance on the bottom of the bottle that filled it about an inch and a murky, oil-like fluid topping it off to the brim. With isopropyl alcohol, calamine, colloidal sulfur and salicylic acid all coming to the game, it's no surprise this pink goop packs a punch. It's actually quite interesting to use as well. You DO NOT BY ANY MEANS shake it up. It ruins the properties of the ingredients and affects the way it interacts with your skin. SO, you take the top off, dip a q-tip down into the pink solid goop at the bottom and pull it back out. Proceed to dot this magical pink substance on one or all of your rude spots before bed and let it do the work while you sleep. Wake up. Rinse off. Voila. I kid you not. This stuff is incredible. I am convinced that this Mario Badescu guy heard every single one of my prayers, thoughts, rants and sob-fests over my acne. Mr. Badescu, if you're listening now, YOU KICK ASS.

Every Andy Warhol fragrance by Bond No. 9 has just resonated with me. I was blown away by Silver Factory, and I own both Union Square and Lexington Avenue. In fact, Lexington Avenue is second only to my beloved Black Orchid as my go-to winter fragrance. And the bottles are works of art in and of themselves.

This time, we're discussing Warhol's fascination with the rich, especially concerning the connection between art and money. The dollar symbol on the bottle was Warhol's own creation, and the fragrance name, Success Is a Job In New York was his first paid commission by a magazine of the same name.

Success IS a job in New York, I think.

At any rate, this is another genderless scent, like Silver Factory. The top notes are coriander, cardamom, mandarin and bergamot. Middle notes include jasmine, tuberose, rose, plum and pimento. Base notes are vanilla, amber and patchouli.

Intriguing, no? Bond No 9's scents just keep getting better and better. You'll find this one at Saks, Bond boutiques in New York City, and online at BondNo9.com for $220 for 100 mL or $145 for 50 mL.

While browsing through Target (which, really, happens about every other day), I came across the Umberto line. Created by celeb stylist Umberto Savone, this entire line is exclusive to Target, and is quickly developing a following there.

I grabbed Shimmer Shine Spray because I have been on a quest to find a shine product that doesn't make my hair look greasy. Since going blue-black with my hair, shine has become more important than ever to me - it finishes the style and brings out the unique blue in my color.

This is a lovely spray, and I used it until I somehow broke the spray nozzle. I must have been a little overenthusiastic about it. It's not glittery - far from it. It just adds a subtle shine that lasts all day. I'll be buying another bottle just as soon as I get back to Target, which will probably be tomorrow.

Total Beauty

About Me

Meredith Edwards-Cornwall is the founder of online lifestyle websites RetrodivasBeauty.com and RetrodivasCloset.com. She is also known as @retrodiva on Twitter. She specializes in drinking large amounts of espresso, shopping, and enjoying social media. In all of her free time she writes for StyleBakeryMom.com twice a week, and does various other freelance gigs involving writing, designing, and generally being awesome. While she believes that success is indeed a job in New York, she currently resides in Virginia Beach, Virginia with her husband, two children, and two cats and has hung on to her day job.